New company bosses earn less

There has been a structural reduction in the salary packages awarded to senior executives in the Netherlands, taking average annual earnings down 23% to around €1m, according to research by the Volkskrant.

And of the 68 new chief executives employed between 2007 and 2011, 45 earn less than their predecessor, the paper said. For example, KPN’s new CEO Eelco Blok earns about half of the remuneration package enjoyed by Ad Scheepbouwer, the Volkskrant points out. The paper looked at executive pay rates at 117 of the country’s biggest companies between 2007 and 2011 and says there are three main reasons for the shift. Bonuses In the first place, new contracts are less generous and basic pay packages for new CEOs are on average 47% lower than for their predecessors. In addition, more conditions have been placed on bonuses. For example, in the banking code of conduct, bonuses may not be larger than annual salary and banks are complying with this, the paper says. Thirdly, share packages are worth less because of the downturn in the economic climate. The reduction in share prices has cut earnings from shares by an average 12.5%, the paper says. Top earner in the Dutch corporate world remains Shell boss Peter Voser, whose income was €8.7m last year.Are the Netherlands’ top firms right to reduce executive pay deals or could the country’s competitiveness be adversely affected? Have your say using the comment form below